I reckon 'twas the weather made me a bit peppery like--" "It was fate," interposed Kitty gravely.

"It must have been something, for sure," breathed Jabez, with a dreary shake of his head.
"Make haste and get Prue harnessed," said Kitty, "or the storm will begin before we start, and then father won't let me go;" and Jabez, with another gloomy shake of his head, rose from the upturned bucket and proceeded with his task..